Morning roundup: The mental side of Crosby's struggles

Nov. 25, 2012

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The lifespan of an NFL kicker is often dictated by how he handles adversity.

For the past month, Packers sixth-year veteran Mason Crosby has been put to that test.

In the worst slump of his six-year NFL career, Crosby has missed seven of his last 13 field goals, including four of his last seven, and only made 61.1 percent of his kicks for the season.

If Crosby has been making kick after kick in practice like the Green Bay Packers insist, then what they have on their hands must be simply a mental issue, writes Press-Gazette writer Rob Demovsky.

“You see a lot of guys that can kick real well in practice,” said Tom Feely, the owner and president of the Feely Kicking School who also studied sports psychology at Florida State University. “Then they get in games, and it’s a totally different story.”

That appears to be the case right now with Crosby, who last season had the best year of his NFL career, making 85.7 percent of his field goals.

* Jermichael Finley’s tendency to speak his mind on topics ranging from Aaron Rodgers to his future in Green Bay has rubbed some the wrong way, but there’s more than what meets the eye to the Packers’ tight end writes, Press-Gazette sports editor Mike Vandermause (http://tinyurl.com/c6kpwxu).

*The Packers’ beat writers are unanimous in their prediction for today’s game between the Packers and New York Giants (http://tinyurl.com/czb9fry).